Dinner: Wild Mushroom Stroganoff

The bourbon chicken and most of the Thanksgiving dishes were new dishes for me. This mushroom stroganoff is one of my safe, tried and true dishes. Living in Portland, with so many mushrooms available, this is an easy regional staple, it’s hearty while being meat-free. Everytime I make mushroom stroganoff, it’s a little bit different based on what mushrooms are fresh at the market – although in Chicago, sometimes to be interesting I ended up using dried mushrooms along with the fresh (generally only portabella and white button were at the grocery store anyway) and it was still tasty. There is really no way to go wrong here with whatever mushrooms you use and whatever combination you put in, and it gives it a slightly different flavor and texture every time.

For this dinner, I used a cup of Oyster mushrooms (one of my favorite mushrooms for its rich taste), a cup of Alba and Brown Clamshell, and cup that was a mix of a few Trumpet Royale (a meatier texture mushroom). I also added an extra 1/4 a cup of shitake to make the sauce more meaty and less creamy. I left out the shallot/onion to also give more spotlight to the mushrooms when I prepared it.

The base recipe yields 4 servings and takes about an hour to cook with a mere 10 min prep:

Wild Mushroom Stroganoff (serves 4)
Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter, and
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large shallot, minced (or you can use an onion)
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic or a crushed garlic clove
• 3 cups mushrooms (the original calls for portabella or cremini cubed)- you can slice instead of cube the mushrooms depending on the size/texture you want
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/8 cup of thyme (original recipe calls for 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped- I am not a fan of parsley though so I used thyme)
• salt and pepper  to taste

Directions:

1. Melt the first amount of butter over medium heat and add the shallot, cook until tender.
2. Add the garlic and mushrooms to the pot and cook until tender.
3. Add the broth, wine, and salt and pepper if desired. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat and simmer for about ten minutes.

Before adding the roux:

1. While the sauce is simmering, in a separate pot melt the second amount of butter over medium heat.
2. Stir the flour into the butter until absorbed to make a roux.
3. Pour the mushroom mixture into the roux and bring to a boil, turn down the heat and stir until thickened.
4. Stir in the cream and parmesan cheese, and stir in the thyme/parsley to taste.

You can choose to serve this over pasta- I always pick an egg noodle- or over rice, or by as a thick broth of its own in a bread bowl (with the former insides of the bowl for you to dunk in).